Chapter 2
Remus was a bad kid, and he knew it.
to be honest,he didn't have many reasons to be a good one. he'd grown up in a small house in London with his mum who could barely afford to look after him. he pretty quickly got used to being hungry,he got used to hand me down sand charity shop clothes, and he learned to never cry or act like he gave a shit.
His mum wasn't doing too well,she left her family in Wales to be with his dad,then he killed himself when Remus was four.
He might have been too young to notice it,but he understood something was up with his mum, then after they came to take her body away he knew he wasn't going into a home and ran off. He was eleven, and had plenty of experience on the streets. The only thing he didn't have was money,friends or a roof to sleep under. That was when he met Sam. he'd been hiding in a corner round the back of a dodgy pub,when someone had started moving closer to him. It was his second week out on the streets and Sam picked him up and introduced him to the other boys.
he'd stuck with them ever since, and now he was sixteen and even more pissed off at the world than he'd been back when he was sleeping in any corner he could.
He liked the people he was with. they understood that no one had much and there was no room for prejudices or hating each other. Sam and the others were alright with him being with girls and boys,just as long as he didn't bring any breakup drama into the house, or bring any home to shag considering that sometimes they had to sleep on the floor,depended on which crack the group had managed to slip into to escape the police.
There were six of them, including Remus, which included Sam,Jack,Needles (no one knew why he was called that),Eddie and Will. they were all different. Eddie was loud and boisterous,whereas Will was quiet.Needles was small and good at slipping away and Jack was bigger,and could easily punch your eye out.Despite this they all had one similarity, you didn't want to mess with them.
so this was the family of sorts he grew up in. They smoked till their nerves went away and nicked booze for special occasions. they were known for being bad news,but they were alright with that.
Then Tom showed up and Remus was absolutely lovestruck. things changed around there. Tom got them all into way too much danger,but danger was in the boys' blood. Remus loved it all. Best of all he thought he loved him. Then they got into a fight in a back alley, and Tom pulled out a knife. He stabbed Remus in the side,only a little. He was ready to die. didn't have much to live for. the others would get on with things as usual,find someone else as soon as possible.
Then that rich kid,Sirius, turned up and helped him home. Sirius was gorgeous, not surprising considering everything.didn't get many pretty boys on the streets.
it was all he thought about while laying on an old mattress in their makeshift home base. Will came to check on him every day,wrapping stolen bandages and gauze tight around his chest. " 'ow do ya know wha' 'o do?" Remus asked him one night, when he snuck in at night to change his bandages over and clean the wound with some bottled water.
"ma was a nurse,da got into fights. One day there was a man staying in the spare room. ma said he didn't have any home or money,she had to go to work so she got me to take care of him- sit up for us will you. He was only 23,had the same thing happen to him as you. not the argument,the stab wound. He died 2 months later. not from the wound. I did a bloody good job mind you. id nipped to the shop for some milk and got back to find he'd taken all the paracetamol in the house"
with that he finished wrapping the bandages and tying them around his waist. "should be back on your feet in a week" and he slipped out the door. Will was right, as usual and Remus was back out on the streets,stealing booze and sneaking through back alleys,pickpocketing anyone who was naive enough to not bother keeping an eye on their wallet.
Every time he went near the dance studio, he kept an eye out for sirius. he'd whispered the name to himself in the dark thousands of times,the syllables fitting into every corner of his mouth,filling the never ending darkness. Those dark curls and bright blue eyes appeared in his dreams again and again. he was made from fucking stardust,but remus was made from dirt and cigarette ash.
he sat,back to the wall, in a place where Sirius was sure to see him. even if he had forgotten all about him, Remus would make sure he was reminded of him. It was foolish to expect anything out of their interactions,but he'd met a boy on fire, and now he was starving for warmth.
he nodded to him, but Sirius did not meet his eye. When they were leaving an hour later, Remus was still there. only this time he was halfway through a pack of fags. Sirius stared at him as he and a smaller version of him walked to a silver car.
Remus winked at him,he almost thought he could make out a blush on his cheeks as his eyes widened and he looked straight ahead again. Remus chuckled.
Then, he didn't see him for months. If he did,then Sirius never met his gaze. the boys would tease remus. "Still looking for your rich tosser?" said Sam one day, coming to stand next to him and taking the cigarette from his mouth, remus sighed and lit another. " wot else would I be doin' Sam?" he said,face of stone they smoked in silence for a moment. before Remus swore he heard "Hey!" being shouted around the corner. He ran round to see the back of a familiar head of black curly hair. someone was holding onto a backpack, Sirius was holding the other half.
Remus managed to catch a glance at the other figure's face "oi Ed. leave off. that one's under my protection"
Eddie let go and Sirius turned around. a smile grew in his face "hello there Sirius. nice to see you"